Woman who allegedly shot ‘disrespectful’ Red Line passenger gets 4 years

CHICAGO — A woman accused of shooting a man who became “disrespectful” on a Red Line train in downtown Chicago was given a four-year sentence on Monday.

Erica Berry, 39, pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated discharge of a firearm before Judge James Obbish. Prosecutors dropped four counts of attempted murder, a more serious charge that Berry faced.

In May 2023, prosecutors said Berry was sitting alone on a northbound train when a 35-year-old man strolled over and started a conversation around 8 p.m.

Berry later told police that the man was flirting with her and that she “tried to let him down nicely,” according to prosecutors, who said CTA surveillance cameras captured much of the incident.

But the man persisted by sitting down next to Berry, who nudged him away twice before he got up and sat near two other women on the opposite side of the train. The verbal back-and-forth between Berry and the man dragged on, prompting the two women to get up and move away, officials said.

I have long called that “Default Respect”.

There is a line by Robert Duvall’s character in the movie “Open Range” that I really like:

“Good health to them that has it comin’...”

I believe in giving people respect in life on the basis of their station, experiences or rank. I grew up in military family, and we were taught to address men as “Sir” and women as “Ma’am”, and responding had to say “Yes Sir” or “Yes Ma’am”. I understood the concept of rank and chain of command.

The point is, if you meet a military person, you give them respect BECAUSE they are in the military. If you meet an elderly person, you give them respect BECAUSE they have lived a lot longer than you have. If you meet someone who has lost a loved one, you treat them with respect and deference BECAUSE they have suffered. All this is done without a single qualifying action on the part of the person. They don’t, and shouldn’t ASK for your respect and deference, the right thing, in the abscence of ANY other qualifying factor, is to grant them special treatment by default.

I call this concept “Default Respect”. Treat everyone with respect, unless their actions nullify that.

If people show, through their words and deeds, that they are not worthy of that default respect, there is NO reason whatsoever to grant that to them, in my opinion.

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